Paper Fans
by garden galaxy
Summary: Sasuke Uchiha wakes up after a four month coma, and nothing is alright.
1. I

No.

Nurses and medics murmur to each other in the hallway. The radiator hums and sputters as it tries its best to cool the room from the summers heat. His room is dark, but light trickles in from behind the thin blinds from street lamps. A large blue curtain is pulled in front of his bed to block most of the light from his open door. Faintly, he can see the shadows of legs and feet as nurses walk past.

No.

They are talking louder now. It a big rush, like a lot of leaves whispering together until it becomes loud. They are talking about him. The medic with purple squares on her face had been the first person he had seen after waking up. She had dropped the tray she was carrying. She asked him if he needed something, or if he was comfortable.

No.

The blue hospital gown he was wearing itched. Sasuke longed to rip it off, but then he would be naked. He turns his head to look at the clock, and flinches when he feels something brush along his neck. He reaches back to pull a strand of hair in front of his face. While he was sleeping. His hair had grown from curling a little over his ears to past his chin.

No.

She was back. Warm chocolate brown eyes, curly brown hair that stayed close to her head, and chubby cheeks with purple squares on them. They are bright and colorful, and Sasuke wants to play with them. The rest of her is soft, but strong, muscles hidden under a poochy stomach. She is asking if he is alright.

No.

The Hokage comes not long after she told him he would. He looks older than Sasuke even remembers. The Hokage tells him his family is dead, except for Itachi, who killed them and turned traitor. Itachi had done something to his mind, and Sasuke had been asleep for four months. They had already gotten rid of the bodies.

"No."

The Hokage leans back, a pensive look on his face, and Sasuke realized he had spoken his first word in over four months. He smokes his pipe and steeples his fingers.

"Sasuke, I know its hard, but it's true."

Sasuke doesn't say anything. The Hokage eventually leaves, and the Square lady brings him light food. Another lady, a high ranked medic, checks him over. They do this for the next couple of days. Sasuke doesn't speak again. He doesn't eat.

Square lady finds out he likes tomatoes, after he eyes the hospital ones on his tray, and brings the cherry ones from her gardens. Sasuke eats them. They awaken something in him, a feeling like he's done this before. It sweeps through his chest, and it hurts and feels good. He feels as if he should cry, but he feels as hollow as pin pricked egg. Nothing will come out.

Square lady is so happy when he eats she cries. A chubby hand reaches up and wipes away tears. Sasuke thinks it makes the purple squares pop. But her reddened eyes remind him of Itachi, and he throws it all up.

The Square lady comes back the next day. She has been crying again, eyes rimmed with pink. She tells him that he is physically okay, and the medics will release him back home very soon.

Sasuke doesn't feel okay.


	2. II

Memories of his family were just out of reach. Like a word on the tip of his tongue. He knows they existed, like his hands existed, or his nose. But whenever he tried to remember them, all he could see was a world with no sky, black buildings and red everywhere. His parents would be slumped over each other.

He asked the square lady why this was, writing it down on a napkin, and she said the mind sometimes blocks out things that are hurtful in order to protect itself. Sasuke is confused. If he has a hard time remembering things, then why can he remember their murders, but not them going to the park together? The park is a nice memory, and he knows he went there before with them because purple told him, so why can't he remember the park, but he can remember them dying?

It's a bad memory and he doesn't want it.

However, the one thing he can remember his parents telling him, with startling clarity, was the number one rule that Uchiha must always follow:

 _Never talk to Shimura Danzo alone._

Which was why Sasuke was looking at that very man standing at the edge of his bed with no small amount of apprehension. Danzo was one of the most powerful ninja in the village.

Danzo was waiting for Sasuke's response, but Sasuke didn't speak. And how could he respond to an offer like that?

" _There is no value in killing the likes of you...foolish little brother…"_

Sasuke twitched.

He was weak. His muscles had all withered like the flowers on his bedside table after being asleep for four months. He got really confused and dizzy when thinking about certain things, and slept a lot. Itachi was right. He was weak. He needed to be strong and confront Itachi, to rid the world of him. The offer of Danzo's private training was almost too good to be true.

But…

He remembered the words his parents spoke, faintly in the back of his mind. He didn't remember them very well. But Sasuke had loved them, and still did, even though they were now long gone. And even if he was to accept Danzos offer and grown stronger to avenge them, he would be going against possibly the last thing they ever told him.

Could he do that?

Could he say he was doing this to get stronger for them, even though it went against their direct advice?

" _...Cling to your pitiful little life…"_

His hands clenched the mattress.

He reached for his white board, uncapping a pink marker to write yes. Itachi was right. He needed to get stronger to challenge him, to win.

His hands were trembling, partially with effort, partially with nerves, and the sight of his weakness presented boldly right in front of his face made him grit his teeth in anger and self-hatred. His wrists were skinny, and the skin was translucent.

" _Worthless…"_ Itachi seemed to whisper in his mind.

He pressed the tip to the whiteboard, humming pleasantly under his breath at the feeling of the tip gliding over the board with a slight squeak, leaving a solid swatch of rose pink to form the first letter.

Something, at that moment, convinces Sasuke to look up. Later, he will speculate its the will of his parents, or some other thing preventing him from being manipulated into a terrible situation, but at that moment, Sasuke glance away from his white board and at Danzo.

The look of pure greed on his face halts Sasuke in his tracks.

Danzo quickly realizes his mistake, and wipes the look off his face until it's one of blank politeness, but it's far too late.

"Sasuke?" He inquires in what would have been a polite tone minutes ago.

Sasuke says nothing, writes nothing, and instead shakes his head no.

The pleasant look becomes fixated on Danzo's face, and he stands up from the guest chair, the one the Hokage had sat on, to his full height. He towers over Sasuke, scar on his chin making him look scary.

"Is there something wrong?" He asks, an edge in his voice.

Sasuke is frozen. He doesn't know what to do.

A tenseness fills the room, making Sasuke feel claustrophobia and nauseous. The air is a thick sludge.

He can't breathe.

He can feel himself panicking as the atmosphere eerily reflects that night, bodies spread out all over.

Danzo seems to loom over him. He is reaching into his side pocket for something, and Sasuke wants to get up and run, except he _can't, because he's frozen in place-_

"-What do you think you're doing?"

A sharp, whip like voice cracked through the air, dispelling Danzo's killing intent.

It was the purple square faced lady. Her normally welcoming face was hard, a scowl painting her lips. Her hands were on her hips, and she was breathing heavily, as if she ran here.

Instead of answering her, Danzo raised his eyebrows, and looked at her with barely hidden disdain.

"Who might you be?" He questions dryly, with a hint of authority. Lesser people would have had their tails in between their legs, maybe tripped over themselves apologizing, or be groveling by now in front of this very dangerous man, but she only squared her shoulders and looked him in the eye.

"It's Rengi. I'm a medic at the hospital here, and was assigned to look over Sasuke. Can you explain to me why his heart rate spiked? And maybe answer my previous question too. It's only polite to return the favor."

Sasuke had to admit, she put on a brave front, but his sharp eyes caught her twitching fingers and the sheen of sweat on her face. It's clear she would rather be anywhere but here.

Danzo turns his full body and attention towards her, and he can see her muscles tense.

"I'm here on official business. It's shinobi business. Nothing that concerns you, as you can see."

She flinches at Danzo's jab. Being a hospital-medic, many looked down on her for her lack of fighting skills, but she stands firm and square. Sasuke can hear a snap as her spine sets itself into place.

"Official business? Only people who the Hokage approved of can be in here. And Sasuke is still recovering." She says tersely, voice strained with nerves.

Danzo says nothing for a moment, the room chilling with his mood. Sasuke feels as flash of annoyance at being reminded at his weakness, but it's quickly washed away with Danzo's next words.

"It's above your ranking." He clearly felt no need to explain himself to her.

"And? Did the Hokage write you a notice to be here?"

Danzo pins her with a cold look. The lines around his face gets deeper with his displeasure.

"I am on the council of elders, and a long time friend of the Hokage-"

"-And?" She snaps, voice wavering, "I asked you for your written permission, not your life story."

"..."

Sasuke is staring between the two of them, wide-eyed. She had just interrupted on of the most prominent men on the continent. She-Rengi, is painfully aware of that, but instead of cowering away like she so clearly wants to, she stands as tall as her 5 foot 2 will allow, and meets his gaze, refusing to blink even though her eyes were watering.

The rooms becomes even colder, and in the blink of an eye, Danzo is surrounded by four ANBU. They were pointedly turned towards Rengi, in a clear non-verbal threat.

She stumbles backwards, before righting herself and digging her nails into the side of her uniform.

"I-I'm going to have to ask you to leave, Danzo-sama."

He walks past her, out the door with his ANBU guard. He stops and without looking back, speaks.

"Rengi, was it."

"Y-yes."

He says nothing else, and keeps walking.

As soon as they were out of sight, she sags like a puppet with it's string cut, and wipes the sweat off her brow with the back of her hand. Sasuke notices the pouch in her stomach. She notices Sasuke staring, and straightened herself.

"Are you okay?" She asks voice soft-but not patronizing. The other medics tend to talk to him like he's stupid because he doesn't speak now, but he's not.

Sasuke nods, throat suspiciously tight. Rengi, who he had thought of as someone weak, had just stood up to him to one of the most powerful, threatening men in the village. Sasuke could say she only did it because it was her job, but standing up to Danzo was the very thing that could make her lose her job. It still could.

His lips trembled. He wasn't alone. She cared about him. Itachi didn't win. She got him cherry tomatoes, and his whiteboard. She stood up to Danzo even though she was afraid of him. She was strong, even if she couldn't fight very well. She couldn't give him power like Danzo, but she cared about him.

"Thank you." Sasuke whispered.

She paused, before a small smile blossomed on her plump lips and the purple square popped.

"Anytime, Sasuke," She rasps, eyes shimmering with tears, "Anytime."

* * *

 **Hello all! As you can see, i have started a new story! yes yes, I know I have others to finish, but this plot bunny struck me out of no where. And before I publish the next chapter, there is something that you, dear reader, should know.**

 **This will not be a -Sasuke-Uchiha-follows-canon-to-a-tee, but rather Sasuke-Uchiha-gets-the-love-and-support-he-needs, and Sasuke-Uchiha-recovers-and-grows-strong-without-Itachi's-"help".**

 **If any of you have read my other fic Miko, this will be like that, a sort of sister fic. It will have many similar themes and plot devices in it, but instead of preventing the massacre, it will follow Sasuke as he becomes the police detective he's always dreamed of and uncovering the truth.**

 **Anyway, See you!**


	3. III

The wheels squeak as Rengi pushes him along. They wave at other medical staff as they walk through, Sasuke writing 'hi' on his board and holding it up whenever someone greeted them.

Sasuke found out that the medical staff was very nice. Most of the medics that attended to him were like Rengi, except not as cool as her. They were all from civilian backgrounds, which also led to extremely good chakra control Sasuke noticed that the civilian-bornes thought differently than the few Hyuga, Yamanaka, and other clan born ninja and third generation ninja. They questioned orders, like Rengi did.

The reason Danzo got so far was because he convinced Sasuke's guards-clan born ninja- had been told he was there on official business. And they bought it.

One of the ninja rules was "Shinobi must see hidden meanings within the hidden meanings." What happened to that? It's like the clan born shinobi were trained not to ask questions when it came to higher ups. Like the mentality of look underneath the underneath only applied to things not related to Konoha. They were just supposed to fall in line like good little soldiers and do what they were told.

When he voiced this to Rengi, holding up his whiteboard, she raised a single eyebrow and tilted her head slightly to the side, as if to say, 'Duh!'

They kept walking, heading back to Sasuke's room after physical therapy. His marker squeaked as he ran it over the board, bold letter filling up the space.

' **Do you know why Danzo was in my room?'**

Rengi doesn't stop pushing, but her pace noticeably slows down in thought.

"I don't know. I went to the Hokage not long after, and he said he gave no one permission to enter. And Danzo never bothered to explain himself. Do you know?"

Sasuke thought for a moment.

Danzo had offered Sasuke training if he would join something. A group he never got the name of. Sasuke wondered if Danzo had asked anyone else to join.

' **He asked me if i wanted to join a group of his for extra training.**

Sasuke heard a grinding and Rengi clenched her teeth, forcibly calming herself.

"Really now?" She asked in a light tone.

Sasuke nodded. Did she know something about this group of Danzo's?

"Did he say anything else?"

Sasuke shook his head no, then hesitated, before picking up his board. He had a question in the back of is mind, an itch he needed to scratch.

' **Do you think he asked anyone else to join?'**

Now this got a reaction out of her. Her eyes went wide until there was a white ring around her honey brown eyes. She craned her neck to check and see if anyone was watching before she wheeled him into his room. She activated the privacy seals.

She took deep, calming breaths.

"Sasuke, I need you to keep quiet about your suspicions."

Sasuke sent her a shocked, betrayed look. She had encouraged him before to look at the ninja with a critical eye, but now she was telling him not to?

Seeing his look, she quickly explained herself.

"Sasuke, this world, is dangerous. You know that by now. Years ago, I went to your father and mother with suspicions of children being kidnapped in Konoha. Besides being a medic at the hospital, I worked at the Konoha orphanages with a woman named Nono Yakushi. These children who went missing were all extremely talented, and intelligent. They showed promise. Like you."

Sasuke sent her a wide eyed look.

"I don't know what happened to them for sure, and your parents...passed before they could find out, but I suspect that the Konoha higher ups have something to do with it. That they were selected for 'special training'."

She rested her hand on his shoulder.

"I need you to keep quiet about this. Because while you are too high profile to go off the map like the other children, I have no doubt bad things could happen to you if you let Danzo know you are suspicious. So promise me, Sasuke, you won't say anything until we have enough proof and power to act."

Sasuke promised.

She gave him his dinner, and a few books, before leaving, shooting one last smile over her shoulder. It was kind, but tormented with the knowledge that a great darkness resided in Konoha, and that she was powerless to stop it.

After she left, Sasuke thought a bit.

The fact that she knew Danzo was doing something that horrible, that she knew he had the ability to do great evil, and yet still found it with her self to stand up to him in his room made Sasuke like her even more, if that was possible.

Sasuke went to bed that night, determined to finish what his parents had started.

He would go to therapy. Get stronger. Train. Make allies like Rengi, and recover those missing children.

Shinobi ruled number one was, after all, see underneath the underneath, and Sasuke would uncover the truth by whatever means necessary.


	4. IV

Sasuke's pen glides over his paper as he fills in the homework that Iruka sensei brought him from the academy. The questions are easy, and the ones he doesn't know, he can just ask Rengi, or the other doctors that come into check up on him.

After four months in a coma, and another two in therapy, Sasuke is feeling better. He still has a lot of muscle mass to regain, but he can walk and do most of his previous exercises.

Sasuke had been, and still was extremely upset of the four whole months of his life gone, but he worked hard. He would never get those months back, but he still had the rest of his life. Unlike his family.

He flinched at the thought, leaving a streak across his paper. He never got to say goodbye. They were all dead by the time he got there, and then in a coma when they collected the bodies. He hastily finished all his homework, before running out of his room to find Rengi so she could check it over. She was good with words and information. You needed to be in order to be a med-nin.

Sasuke hurried through the halls, whiteboard and marker under one arm, hands ruffling his hair and medics laughing and giggling as he went by.

He was going to go straight, but a noise had him pausing and turning to the left. This hall was close to his, but different. It was more kid-friendly, with colorful decorations on the halls. He paused in front of a sign that read 'children's wing'.

He pushed open the doors.

Inside it he found children. Younger than him, older than him, but all of them were dressed in the hospital owns, sometimes wearing something underneath or over them. A bald girl sat in the corner, playing with her teddy. She looked to be about his age. A boy in a wheelchair was drinking his milk like a kitten. A pair of twin girls sat on front of the boxy television, squealing when their favorite characters showed up.

He went up to the bald girl first.

"Hello!" She spoke as soon as she saw him. Her words were slightly slurred, probably from whatever was in the drip in her arm. Sasuke wrote hi back. She smiled in delight at the bright pink color.

"Could you draw me a flower?"

Sasuke's throat tightened as a memory overcame him at her words. He remembered his mother liked doodling flowers in the corner of papers. He drew her on on his board, wavy petals that were saying high, and a strong stem with heart shaped leaves.

"That is so beautiful!"

' **Like you!'** Sasuke wrote. Rengi told him to always be nice to people, especially ones who didn't feel well. And besides, it was true. Her crooked smile made him feel like he had a piece of sunlight in his chest.

She gasped, holding a bony hand over her chest before smiling.

"Could you draw one on the table? So when you leave I can look at it?" The flower girl asked.

Sasuke drew three on the table, one with fat petals that curved into points at the top, another with thin oval leaves and long winding vines that looked like ribbons, and another almost identical to the one on his board.

She was so happy she couldn't speak, just smiled and nodded.

Sasuke nodded back, and made a promise to himself to visit later.

He was turning to leave when the screaming started. Sasuke looked around frantically, heart racing and mind being thrown back to a bloodied street, but before that can happen fully, Rengi is running through the door.

She picks the boy who had fallen out of his wheelchair up, mindful of his now bleeding leg. She maneuvers the wheelchair towards them with her foot, and carefully set him down.

Sasuke cautiously padded over, clutching his whiteboard to his chest. She glanced up at him, and noticed his worried expression and immediately moved to comfort him.

"He'll be okay Sasuke. See?"

Sasuke watched as a familiar green glow emitted from her hands, and Sasuke watched as _she knit his skin back together in seconds._

It was the most amazing thing he had ever seen. She dried the boys tears with her sleeve, and wiped the blood off with kleenex. She comforted him, and called in another nurse to wheel him back to his room.

All Sasuke could do was stare in awe. She didn't freeze up, she didn't flinch, didn't panic. Instead, she jumped right into action. Her normal unsureness evaporated. All she knew was she needed to help someone, and she did. She seemed stronger when she helped others.

They walked back to his room, her one hand holding his, and her other holding his paper.

"Perfect score, Sasuke! Good memory!"

Sasuke thought about how she effortlessly made the hurt go away with the blood.

He wanted to do that too.

He had wanted to be a police officer-and he still would be one, to uncover the truth. But Sasuke was tired of seeing people hurting while he stood by helpless. This time, he would learn how to heal, instead of hurt like Itac- _that man,_ wanted him to.

He pulled his hand from hers and wrote on his whiteboard.

' **I want to be a medic-nin.'**

Rengi blinked, startled. For a moment Sasuke was afraid she'd tell him no. That as an Uchiha he should be a front line fighter instead, that being a medic was a sissy, civilian, thing to do. But she smiled warmly, patted his head, and said:

"Of course."

Sasuke would be strong. Like Rengi.


	5. V

Sasuke is evicted from the hospital. It blindsided him, along with Rengi and his new allies in the children's room. The twins were upset, because he braided their hair and they like to draw with him. He would miss the kids, most of them who were there because of defects from the nine-tails. He would miss pushing Akiko around in his wheelchair everyday, and visiting the babies at the nursery.

"Do you have everything?" Rengi asked. It was clear she was unhappy of all this. To be honest, so was Sasuke. You don't just spend seven months in one place and suddenly be happy to leave.

He reached up and started fiddling with his hair. Rengi had cut off the split ends, leaving it very soft and fluffy.

Sasuke didn't want to go back to the compound. What would he see there?

' **I don't want to go back to the compound.'**

Rengi pursed her lips. Not in a mad way, but in a way that Sasuke could tell she was trying to keep her emotions in check.

"The law states that no uchiha can live outside the compound. But I sure we can figure something out."

Sasuke didn't blame Rengi for this, but he really didn't want to go back.

Seeing the empty compound would just confirm everything he had been told, and Sasuke wasn't sure if he could accept that.

They walked through the halls, Sasuke practicing flickering his chakra in the chakra control exercises Rengi and the other medics taught him. They had become allies to him. The secretary that would let him take the whole bowl of chocolate mints and bring them back to the room, the medic that always gave him the purple band aids whenever he tripped because he wanted to look like Rengi, the cafeteria ladies that saved him his favorite lime green jello cups. Even the good ANBU, not Danzo's, pulled his blankets up when they fell off in the middle of the night, and sometimes let him see them-their way of saying hi.

These people were true heroes. Killing someone, Sasuke found out, was easy. It was a cruel thing to say, but it was true. Just a certain application of chakra, a quick swipe with a blade or kunai, and a person was dead. This was the shinobi way. Every single student in the academy right now was learning to do this. Even a paper ninja knew how to do this.

But healing someone? Piecing them back together, caring for them for months and years at a time like flower girl? Not many could do that. Certainly not _that man._ In a world that valued killing over kindness, the people Sasuke met at the hospital were a rarity.

All cared and looked out for him and the others in their own ways, and Sasuke didn't want to leave the bustling hospital for a empty compound.

But he knew he had to. He couldn't hide in the hospital forever. Sasuke had things to do, and while he was being pushed out by the higher ups that wanted him to go back to the academy, Sasuke knew that he would have eventually left himself, sooner or later. He needed to get all the Uchiha valuables together. Use clan scrolls to train, and try to find out clues about the missing children and what happened that night.

"Wait!"

They paused in the hallway, the ANBU guards turning to look.

It was flower-girl. She was wearing a hat over her head, because she didn't like people seeing that she had no hair. She was dragging her drip line with her. Sasuke could see her yellow shorts from under the hospital gown.

"I wanted to say goodbye." She said, panting slightly. Sasuke tilted his head.

She walked over and hugged him. It was nice. The twins had stuffed flowers in her hat because she had no hair to braid, so she smelled good. Her arms were thin, but they wrapped around him tightly in a proper hug. He hugged back.

"Oh! And we got going away presents!"

She pulled out a few of the twins hair bands, Akiko's nice ink pen that he knew Sasuke liked, a Jello cup and a drawing of beautiful flowers of all shapes and sizes.

"These are from all of us! The twins knew you wanted to grow out your hair like your mom so they gave you hairbands. Akiko gave you his pen so you could do good at the academy and write well. The lunch ladies gave you the lime jello they were saving, and I, uh, drew you flowers with Akiko's pen. Now yours of course."

She giggled nervously.

Sasuke slowly took the items, touched beyond belief. He traced the gifts over with is eyes, before pulling Flower-girl into another hug.

She turned, waved, and left.

Sasuke looked up to see that Rengi was smiling, and that even the Anbu seemed less stiffer.

"You'll see them again. After all, you'll be doing a lot of your training here."

That made Sasuke feel marginally better.

"I have something for you too, Sasuke." Sasuke looked up, peeling his eyes away from the corner flower-girl had disappeared behind.

Rengi pulled a pack of new whiteboard markers out of her satchel. They came in all colors of the rainbow, from Light pink to black. There was at least a dozen. Sasuke felt his eyes tingle.

He took them and put it in the backpack the receptionist gave him along with the rest of the gifts.

"I figured you could use a few more colors than pink." Rengi said softly, with a hint of humor in her voice.

Sasuke nodded, trying not to cry.

"Are you ready to go?" Rengi asked after another moment. Sasuke wasn't ready but he nodded again anyway.

Sasuke was going home, so why did he feel like he was leaving?


	6. VI

Sasuke can't help but wonder what happened to the bodies. How many did they pick up at once? Were they burned, cremated? Turned to ashes by Itachi's fireballs? What condition were they found in? Mostly whole, or in pieces?

Looking at the scorch marks from an explosive tag on a compound wall, that one, at least, would be in pieces.

He walked through the compound, the wind whistling through the empty paths and homes. He concentrated, and it almost sounded like whispers.

He stared around blankly.

Over in that corner, his great-aunt was killed with the bread knife she used when baking. She didn't want to be a ninja, so she remained a civilian. There was also the fact that she was born with a birth defect that made it impossible. By the street lamp Sasuke's younger cousins liked to climb, there was a blood stain where Itachi had ran them through. They were three, four, and five, respectively.

Sasuke wondered for a moment, how toddlers who could barely speak their own names, and crippled elderly civilian women were a challenge to _that man,_ but Sasuke, with basic training, and a year of the academy under his belt, wasn't.

It didn't make any sense.

He looked around dazed, before a thought flashed through his mind like a bolt of lightning.

 _None of this made anysense._

Sasuke wracked his brain for the memories of him first walking into the compound. He ran towards the gate.

Skidding to a stop next to the opening, he looked down at the spot where his uncle had been killed. He remembered it with startling clarity, even if everything else before the massacre was blurry, because his uncle was the first body he saw.

His chest has been torn to ribbons, along with the wall behind him. Sasuke had been confused, partly because he couldn't believe it was happening, and partly because the injuries looked like nothing he had ever seen before. No weapon he knew could have cause these injuries.

But now he had seen it.

It was on a kunoichi coming back from a mission to Suna. Her torso, arms, and face were torn and shredded. He only got a glimpse before she was wheeled away into another section of the hospital before Rengi led him away. Rengi had explained to him that a wind jutsu had done this to her. The left distinct marks, just like the ones on his uncles body.

But here's the thing:

 _That man_ didn't know any wind jutsu.

A wind affinity was extremely rare outside of Suna. And the Uchiha were only fire natured, with lightning popping up here and there. And while it was possible to learn other natures, Sasuke knew for a fact _that man_ only knew fire, lightning, and some earth. Father had told him.

So that meant whoever killed his uncle wasn't Itachi.

Sasuke trembled, before exploding into action.

He dashed towards the wall behind his uncle, which had been peppered with slashes, only to find it had been covered. Sasuke dug his nails into the plywood, and yanked. It clattered to the packed dirt. Sasuke looked behind and saw the distinct wind slashes, which had yet to be sanded away.

He started hyperventilating.

Could it have just been in self-defense!?

No, not possible!

No Uchiha knew any wind jutsu besides for a select few, and they all worked at the police station. And they would never use it against a civilian!

Sasuke was on hands and knees, breathes caught in his throat.

Flashes of a black and red world swirled across his mind. Some of the murderers Itachi showed him were starling clear. His parents had been ran through with a Tanto. But others deaths, Sasuke now noticed, were blurry. They would be alive, only to be dead the next moment without showing _how_ they died.

Almost as if...Itachi _didn't know._

And what about the police station? All of the police officers were high ranking nin who knew at least two elemental affinities, and were at least jounin level. Itachi was strong, but there was no way he could have taken them all on!

And then why didn't Itachi show him the deaths of the police officers!? If he had killed every single Uchiha like Sasuke had been told, then why hadn't Itachi showed him their deaths!? Seeing his heroes killed would have further tormented Sasuke, which is what Itachi wanted. To not show Sasuke would have been a hugely wasted opportunity.

Was it possible that Itachi killed them after the civilians?

No.

He would have wanted to take out the biggest threats first. The Uchiha police would have been able to counter Itachi's Sharingan with their own. They would have been able to evacuate the civilians, and sound the alarms to the ANBU.

So the Police were definitely taken out first.

Which meant Itachi should have been able to use their murders against Sasuke. Sasuke refused to believe he just 'forgot' to.

Unless…

Itachi wasn't there when they died.

Which means someone else, or someone(s), had killed them.

And then his parents.

His mother and father were two of the most powerful in the clan. His mother was an A-ranked Kunoichi, a jounin. His father had been an _Hokage_ candidate. And from what Sasuke knew, they were killed last. Their house was in the center of the compound, there was no way they didn't know what was going on.

So why didn't they fight back?

The both of them together could have easily defeated Itachi. Itachi may have been a Jounin and ANBU, but he was still only 13. They had years of experience on him.

But Sasuke remembered walking into the house and finding them on the floor, bodies collapsed over each others.

They carried weapons on them at all times. Sasuke saw his mothers kunai when she would fold the laundry. His father carried shuriken. And yet when he walked in and saw them, he saw no signs of a struggle. Catching one of them off guard? Maybe. But both of them, in the same room, and killing them at the same time with one hit? No way.

They were weaponless, despite having weapons at all times. There were no signs of a struggle. No cuts, torn clothes, blood, or damaged house items to show they fought back except from the spot where they had died. Passively.

The only thing Sasuke could conclude was… that they let Itachi kill them.

A hand reached out and touched his back, and Sasuke jumped, flipping over onto his side.

Rengi was bent over him, worry plastered over her face. Behind her was four ANBU members. Sasuke realizes his clothes were covered in dirt, and his face was streaked with tears and snot.

She murmured something to him, but Sasuke was too shocked to listen.

As she put him on her hip and began walking towards the hospital, Sasuke's unfocused eyes drifted over the ANBU, and he realized something.

After the Hyuga incident, where Hinata was kidnapped by Kumo, ANBU patrols increased by tenfold. Rengi had told him this in the hospital. Being a medic, this was information she had access too that normal ninja wouldn't.

While she wasn't sure of the specific times, Sasuke knew they patrolled the entire village at least every half hour. On each ANBU team there was a sensor, would would be able to scan the village for hostile signatures, or chakra that was rising in order to alert them.

And there was the face that ANBU specifically patrolled along the Uchiha compound. Before they died, Sasuke would play a game with his little cousins as to how many ANBU they would could running across the wall.

The reason Sasuke had abandoned his training and headed back home so early was because he felt that something was off. Even though he wasn't a sensor, there was something ominous in the air that made him head back home.

If a seven year old academy student was able to feel that something was off, then the ANBU would have too.

So where were they?

Why didn't they alert the rest of the village?

Why didn't they intervene?

And why didn't Sasuke see them the night of the massacre?

So they patrol every single night, except that one? Did they somehow know the massacre was gonna happen?

It was too much.

Sasuke leaned over Rengi's shoulder and threw up on the ground. He passed out.

* * *

 **As we can see, when applying basic logic and using beginners level critical thinking skills, the cover story of the Uchiha massacre quickly unravels.**


	7. VII

Sasuke sat silently in his hospital room, back again after having left not too long ago. He wasn't sure how he should be feeling. The things he had deduced had stunned him to his core, and made the food Rengi brought him feel like ashes on his tongue. They had tried to find out what caused Sasuke's adverse reaction, but Sasuke didn't know who to trust anymore.

After all, is his deductions were right(and he was pretty sure they were) then is was entirely possible that many authority figures in the government could have played a role in covering up or letting the massacre happen.

Sasuke didn't want to think about what would happen if they knew he was onto them.

They had asked him many questions when he came to. What had happened? Did someone attack him? Was he okay? Did he see who it was?"

Sasuke said he was just overwhelmed. Which was true. Besides, even if he told them what was really going on, there was nothing they could do to help.

He shifted again in his bed. Some ANBU members would be here soon to escort him back to the compound, and Sasuke found he couldn't wait. Because while he left the first time, he was directionless, with no clue what could happen next. But now, Sasuke knew what he had to do.

He would go home. He would clean up. He would search for clues and document the other irregularities of that night. He would sort his relatives belongings, he would get a holy-person to cleanse the spirits of the compound. He would go to school, make allies, and he would uncover the truth.

Nothing would stop him.

When they came and escorts him home, Sasuke told them thank you with his whiteboard. When they left, leaving one to watch over him, Sasuke got to checking over his house. He was looking for papers, only able to be read with the sharingan.

He walked into the master bathroom, and hopped onto the counter. He leaned forward until his forehead pressed against the glass. He cupped his fingers around his face until only cracks of light slither through.

And activated his sharingan.

They swirled to life, and immediately Sasuke could make out every pore, every single strand of hair on his head. He could see and count the ridges in his fingertips. He slowly deactivated them, until the red wasn't visible anymore but his vision was still sharp and clear.

He then backed away from the mirror, and looked around. It looked very different from before. Cracks in the wallpaper, ruffles in the curtins, things he had never really noticed before were brought before him with startling clarity.

He walked around the house and into his father's study. He scanned the expensive Hashirama tree desk which was barren of all papers. His father always had papers on his desk. He must have sealed them away. Or someone else took them.

Chilled at the thought, Sasuke left the room, heading towards his mothers beauty room instead.

When he was younger, and before everything got so tense, he and his mother would play with makeup together. They do each others hair, put on blush, curl their eyelashes, and paint their eyelids fun colors.

When their dad wasn't so busy, he'd let they do his face. He'd be scowling, but Sasuke knew he was having fun.

Sasuke pushed the door open, and was immediately greeted with the smell of his mother's favorite lavender perfume. His heart ached as he walked over to pick up the bottle, and Sasuke gave two small puffs to his wrist, where he brought it up to smell.

Tears slid down his cheeks as he put the bottle down and went to his mother's makeup chest. He hesitated at the thick layer of dust covering it like almost everything else in his house.

He was supposed to be looking for clues. Why was he in the beauty room?

But for all his reasoning, Sasuke just couldn't seem to leave. He stared at the box for what seemed like forever before mustering up the courage and flipping the golden latched, opening the lid.

But instead of makeup, he was greeted with a letter signed by his mother. It was resting next to his mother's lighter, which had a tag that said _to Sasuke_ on it. .

His heart in his throat, Sasuke picked it up with shaking fingers and began to read.

 _To my little tomato:_

 _Sasuke, being your mother has been the greatest joy of my life. Every step, every milestone, I was there to see it. I watched as you took your first steps(out in the garden), as you spoke your first words(kitty), and ate your first solid foods,-tomatoes from my garden. I loved you, and I despaired for you._

 _You have been born in a time of peace, but your early life is marked by tragedy. The nine-tails attack was the beginning of the end in so many ways. I lost my best friend, my sister in the attack. Thousands others lost their homes and lives. The Uchiha were blamed for not fighting the beast head on. We were blamed for the economic recession that followed, and we were blamed for the crime spike from the newly homeless and desperate._

 _So many things went wrong I often felt that you were the only right thing in my life._

 _The Uchiha were always treated coldly, at arms length by the village, but now we were sequestered into the corner of the village, away from the hub of activity. They painted it as generosity, but it felt instead like we were being quarantined. They gave us less missions, less positions in the village. Already suffering from the dramatic losses due to the Ninetails and third war, this was too much. The people began to refuse to work with the police, and then blamed us when we couldn't do our jobs properly._

 _Unrest began to spread in the family. We were a powder-keg, and Konoha was holding the match._

 _And I was helpless._

 _Control was an illusion. My husband came home, wrung dry from his efforts for peace and stability. My eldest son was cracked from within. My people were suffering and the village viewed us as villains for demanding to be treated like people._

 _I was helpless._

 _It's why I write this letter for you Sasuke. I just hope you find it. Konoha is a dangerous place, and it will treat you unkindly if it can get away with it. I cannot tell you what happened next, because knowledge is powerful and perilous, and if someone other than you recovers this letter, disastrous things will happen._

 _I am going to give you some advice, and you better listen to your mother._

 _First, question everything. Take nothing at face value. If you can't voice your questions safely, keep them to yourself. Second, search for answers and clues in the likely event your questions are left unanswered. Third, exercise extreme caution. Don't let them know you are suspicious or they will get you._

 _And finally, this is the most important one. Fourthly, remember that we will always,_ _ **always**_ _love you._

 _When you feel hopeless, frozen and numb, carry our love like a tiny flickering flame next to your heart. Let it warm you from the inside, let it gently blow warm air over your frozen fingers and breathe pink back into your visage. Nurture it, and let it grow until you burn brightly. Let it bring you all the warmth that love provides, and burn anyone who wishes you harm._

 _And remember, you are Uchiha._

 _Fan the flames._


	8. VIII

Iruka-sensei squakes and drops his coffee and paperwork when he finally sees Sasuke sitting in the darkest corner of the classroom after half an hour of waiting for the rest of the students.

He seems to think he's hallucinating, if the repeated eye rubs and face smacks are anything to go by. Eventually Iruka-sensei collects himself enough to go over and talk to Sasuke. He's clearly happy to see him, if a bit surprised by the whole thing.

"Sasuke!" Iruka exclamins sounding both joyful and confounded, "You're here! Why didn't you say anything sooner?"

Sasuke kept silent. Trying to talk felt like sprinting in jello. He held up his board instead, with it's pre-written information on it, detailing Sasuke education at the hospital and his semi-muteness.

"I see." Iruka said comfortingly.

The reassurance and complete lack of judgement in his voice made Sasuke blink rapidly. Iruka went and got Sasuke's papers together from his desk, the assignments he didn't get to and what Sasuke needed to know for today's lesson.

He laid them on Sasuke's desk, before clearing his throat softly.

"I was the same when I lost my family. I was quiet too, for awhile. You can speak when your ready, and I'll make sure the other teachers know not to call on you if you don't want it."

It was so thoughtful and considerate that Sasuke could only sit there and blink dumbly, before nodding his head.

Iruka smiled and left him to his business to walk up to his desk. The first students were trickling in. Most didn't notice him sitting in the back corner, going to sit themselves somewhere in the middle of the room. He saw Hinata shuffle in, poking her fingers together. Her head was swiveling around, trying to find a place to sit before her eyes landed on him and she froze.

She seemed incredibly confused and shocked, and for a moment Sasuke wanted to invite her to sit next to him because he felt bad, before Sakura and Ino burst through the door, shouting and pushing Hinata out of the way.

They shouted and stomped around, and Sasuke couldn't help the fond smile that crossed his face. After the silence of the compound, and the calm of the children's ward, this energy was refreshing.

"I GOT HERE FIRST-"

"NO, YOU'RE SEEING THINGS-"

Ami burst through the door and sent them carrenign away from each other, laughing as she trounced to the middle of the room and sat own. Sasuke didn't know what to think of Ami. She was a bully, but Ami also came from a poor immigrant family. Sasuke knew she bullied the other kids because she was jealous they were born in-village and she wasn't.

Ami was the second student to see him other than Hinata. Her mean laughter was cut off, but nobody noticed due to Naruto entered the room, being dragged in by a fuming Tsubaki-sensei.

Tsubaki-sensei is the fiancee to Mizuki-sensei. Sasuke always liked her. She really did care for the kids, and on top of being a regular teacher she was also the teacher of kunoichi classes.

Sasuke watched as Ami shuffled over to him. Her normally sour face was twisted into a nervous smile. Sasuke thought she looked nicer when she wasn't making other kids cry.

"Hi, Sasuke," She giggled shyly, fingers fiddling with the hem of her hand-me-down shirt. Sasuke nodded at her, and it was like the meanness leaked out of her as she shuffled her feet. It was strange, how one gesture could have such power over one person.

Then he thought of Rengi buying him his white board and rescinded that thought.

"Can I...um, s-sit here?" She squeaked. She looked fearful, thinking Sasuke was going to say no, and for a moment, Sasuke hesitated. He didn't really want to talk. So got his white-board and wrote.

' **Sure. But I don't talk much.'**

She looked stunned for a second, before smiling the widest he had ever seen her smile. She sat tall and proud next to him, with all the happiness of a princess despite her worn clothes.

Everyone else trickled in, and they had yet to recognize him. Maybe it was because he had grown his hair past his chin and now kept it in a small french braid that Rengi had taught him how to do? Was it the change in clothes, where he now wore his cousin Izumi's purple shirt?

Class started, and to Sasuke's delight, they began with geography. They talked about the land of waves, Kirigakure, Suna, and Iwa. He knew all of this because of the hospital staff, but he couldn't help but notice how they ignored one little island off the coast of fire country, and north of wave.

Sasuke frowned. He would have to ask Rengi later.

The bell dismissing the boys for Taijutsu practice and the girls for Kunoichi classes rang.

As Sasuke watched the rowdy, shouting boys and jumping and bumping into one another, he felt apprehension in his gut.

After a moment of indecision, he padded after the girls. He was surprised to see Ami waiting for him in the hall. Her face bloomed into a smile when she saw him.

"Aren't you going with the rest of the boys?"

Sasuke shook his head no. He then pointed where Tsubaki-sensei lead all the other girls.

Ami blinked, but seemed to take it in stride. They walked down the hall together until they reached the room where they would be having their lesson. They were doing makeup today, and Sasuke felt a pang of excitement and heartbreak.

Tsubaki-sensei saw Sasuke and blinked with surprise.

"Sasuke? You're back!" She said, surprised. This naturally made every other girl turn and stare at him.

They started talking frantically and squealing, crowding him. Ami snapped and said something mean to one of the girls who just wanted to say hello.

"Back off! He wants nothing to do with your ugly mug!" She snarled. The other girl stepped back as if slapped, a hurt expression on her face. Sasuke frowned disapprovingly at Ami, and she flinched.

' **Can i join you today?'** He asked Tsubaki-sensei.

She nodded.

"Of course! Let me send a message to Iruka-sensei. Right now, we're doing makeup. Do you know how to do that?"

Sasuke nodded.

"Right. I'm going to pair you up with...All the girls were waiting with baited breath. Except one.

"Hinata."

Hinata squeaked in surprise. She shrunk back into her thick coat under the heavy stares of her classmates like a turtle.

Sasuke walked over to her and smiled kindly. It was his mother's smile. They dispersed, shooting glances at them. Sasue heard one of the girls calling Hinata _fatty_ under her breath, and he narrowed his eyes at her as Hinata's face flushed in shame.

Rengi was chubby, and there was nothing wrong with her. His mother put on a few pounds after she had him and he remembered his father telling her she was the most beautiful women he ever saw.

They sat down in front of one of the stations, with old makeup and a propped up mirror. Hinata tried to look him in the eye, but quickly looked away each time.

He looked at her coloring, noting the dark purple hair and the beautiful lavender eyes. He could work with that.

He held the eyeshadow palette and brush up in question, smiling softly at Hinata as she nodded a quick yes. He brushed it over her eyelids, holding his breath as the silvery color brought out her eyes. He made it lighter in the corners of her eyes with white glitter, and gave it a smokey gray swirl in the outer edges.

He did her lips next, putting on a base layer of a dark pinkish-purple. He lines her lips with a dark pink, and then petals a light purple in the center of her lips. He takes a tissue and blends it together.

He sits back and smiles, happy with the results. He gestures for her to look in the mirror, and Hinata gives a tiny gasp.

A slow disbelieving smile spreads over her face as she looks at her beautifully done makeup, admiring how it makes her lips slope gently, brings out her smooth skin, and makes her eyes pop.

' **You look very pretty."** Sasuke writes.

Hinata smiles.

"Good job!" Someone says.

It's Tsubaki-sensei, and she's smiling proudly at them. The other girls are looking over. Many are looking at him with admiration, and others are staring at Hinata with envy.

"How about we gather in a circle and talk about why makeup is important?

They all gathered in a circle as Tsubaki-sensei ran to get some supplies for the class, as they waited, one brave girl asked him a question.

"Sasuke, what kind of girl do you like?" She demanded.

Sasuke was suddenly very aware of all the eyes on him, and without the buffer of sensei his face was starting to turn a pale pink.

He wrote on his board.

 **I like girls who are kind to each other, and work hard to be better and stronger.'**

He didn't really like and specific kind of girl, looks didn't matter to him. And while he felt bad for technically manipulating these girls, he knew this would help them down the road.

As sensei came back, Sasuke was happy to notice how serusoily they took their lessons. He like that Ami had tones the name-calling down significantly, and they treated Hinata kinder.

Most would have only seen fangirls, but Sasuke saw potential.


	9. IX

Sasuke walked home from the academy, hands clenched on his backpack straps to keep them from shaking. Something had set him off. Rengi had said to him while he was in the hospital that when a person went through something really bad or scary, certain things could make them feel like they were back in that bad situation. They were called triggers.

One of the kids almost hit him with a shuriken like Itachi did, and suddenly, Sasuke couldn't do much of anything for the rest of class. He knew he should have told someone, like Iruka-sensei or Tsubaki-sensei, but he was frozen.

His ANBU guards had long since left him so Sasuke didn't have to worry about them stopping him on his quest to visit neko-baa. He stumbled through undergrowth and jumped across small streams on his quest to get to her shop. As his goal settled in his mind, his felt his panic begin to simmer down. Thoughts of petting some of the cats danced through his head.

Finally, her shoppe came into view, surrounded by the empty buildings vacated during the second shinobi war when Suna released a poison there. He went and knocked on the door.

" _Come in_ ," A raspy voice said. The familiarity of it has Sasuke's throat tighten. He pushed the doors open and was immediately greeted with the smell of incense and tuna fish. He smiled.

" _Sasuke_!" Neko-baa purred with delight. Her old eyes sparkled with genuine happiness. " _We're so glad you're here."_

Sasuke nodded. He was glad to.

He heard a loud squealing, and then Tamaki had wrapped her arms around him in a hug. He like the fact that she had a cat nose and whiskers painted on. He missed her. His memories of his family and friends from beforehand were still clouded, but he remembered they used to play together.

' **Can I get a cat?'**

" _Yes, business has been slow ever since six months ago. Your business will be appreciated. What kind would you like?"_

' **A small cat, something to easily carry around. Intelligent, and able to take care of itself when I can't.'**

Neko-baa puffed whatever was in her pipe before a slow smile curled on her face that had her cat whiskers curl with pleasure.

" _I have just the thing."_ She signaled to her daughter. Tamiki let go and bounced into the storage room, coming back with a scroll. She gestured for Sasuke to sit down, having brought out a cushion for him. She poured him a cup of tea and he gratefully took a sip.

" _This, used to be your mother's."_

Sasuke almost choked.

" _It's a cat summon scroll that's been passed between the Neko clan and the Uchiha clan since before Konoha was founded. Sign onto this scroll, below your mothers and Tamaki's name. If they find you worthy, a summon will appear."_

Sasuke signed below his mother's name with the pen Akiko gave him. He notices they did some of their letters the same.

They waited with baited breath.

Then, with a poof of smoke and a small pop, a tiny cat plopped onto the scroll in front of Sasuke.

It blinked big yellow eyes. It reminded Sasuke of flower girls shorts.

"Hi, are you my summoner?" It asked in a sweet voice. It seemed to be a young girl cat. It had a black pelt, and as far as Sasuke could see, it was the only color besides the white on the tip of her tail.

He nodded.

"Oh, Good! My name is Airi!"

She jumped into his arms and started purring. Sasuke smelled jasmine like his mothers perfume.

" _Airi is very intelligent. On top of acting as emotional support, Airi is also a spy and can gather information from other cats. Useful, isn't she?"_

Sasuke nodded, alight with delight.

He said his goodbye's and walked home with Airi in his arms, feeling much less lonely.


	10. X

Airi was a god send. She was absolutely amazing. She was this ball of softness and nice smelling fur whp purred when Sasuke was sad and knew an awful lot about being a good ninja.

Then again she did say she was a ninja cat. Sasuke knew they existed because he had seen some ninja cat supplies in one of his aunts houses but it was still awesome.

She was able to understand him without words which was very convenient. Something about a bond between summoners. So Sasuke asked her to act pretty much like a normal cat, because he wanted his summoning contract to be sort of an ace in the hole.

The next week was spent setting up a spy network in the village. The Uchiha were a cat loving clan to the extreme, and while Sasuke was in the hospital, many of them had scattered all over the village. Sasuke got to work cracking open cans of cat food, brushing and grooming them. Due to the contract, he could also understand what they were saying.

" _Oh, yes, weirrrd how many children have gone missing~"_ One of the she-cats purred. She was a beautiful things, with a dusty light gray coat and amber eyes. " _It's rrregretful, they gave good scratches~"_

She seemed sad, and was trying to make herself feel safer by purring.

Sasuke asked her to keep an eye out and try to find out more. He asked other cats to take note of how many, and what their traits were. For example, were they extraordinarily smart? Or did they have potential for the ninja arts? Who took them away?

They agreed readily, happy with their new master giving them affection and care. Airi, ever clever and intelligent, asked them to keep an eye on Danzo.

"Sure thing."

Sasuke startled.

It was the Wife of the Daimyo's Cat. What the hell was it doing here.

Airi purred in amusement.

"It's a long standing tradition with us cats to lead the Konoha genin teams on a wild goose chase. It's also considered an honor to become the pet of the lady Daimyo."

Sasuke nodded. He wondered if when he became a genin he could avoid all that.

With their plans made, Sasuke and his new found spy system went on their respective ways. Sasuke went to the academy where he let them pet Airi when they felt sad. Seeing the look on Sakura's face when he pulled an entire cat (abit a small breed) out of his hoodie front pocket was something he won't ever forget.

Airi soaked up the attention.

When Kiba saw his pet, he had laughed and gave Sasuke afist bump, of all things.

"Pet bros," He had crowed, then walked to his seat with Akamaru sitting on his head. That gave Sasuke an idea, and he started wearing a hoodie with a hood. Airi loved sleeping in it, and Sasuke loved the warm weight of her body on his back and neck.

When Sasuke went back to Neko-baa's for some tea she had invited him over for, she had commented on a recent boom in business.

"-It's those girls of yours!" She had rasped. Sasuke wrote that he didn't own anyone and she had cackled.

"You don't, but you sure do have influence over them! They all came here looking for a cat like yours!"

Hm. Ever since Sasuke showed up to school with a cat, a lot of the girls had thought it was a swell idea. Sasuke saw them feeding the alley cats too, and getting pets of their own. His eyes glittered as an idea crossed his mind.

That had potential. Some of his fangirls could be used as spies. He could use the cats to send secret messages back and forth if it came down to that.

He thanked her for the food, and headed towards the hospital. Rengi and the others were giving him lessons in Chakra control and medical theory. He was dead set on becoming a medic-nin.

When he got there they all greeted him and Airi with delight. Sasuke went over his lessons with them, learning about the different body systems and how chakra affected them.

"-remember Sasuke, medical ninjutsu only speeds up the bodies natural healing process. And while it can push it past superhuman levels, it has its limits, and sometimes no amount of chakra can save someone."

Kagome sighed. Her eyes spoke of experience.

"This is the most important lesson every medic nin and medic nin wanna be learns. You cannot save everyone. You cannot save everyone, but be comforted in the fact that you did not stand by helplessly, that you gave it your all."

Sasuke nodded.

That was all he could ask for.


	11. XI

Sasuke sat with flower-girl(whose name was Fuji) and Rengi in the children's ward. Airi curled around his neck like a scarf, keeping him warm and his neck protected as she updated him on the news the other cats of Konoha had brought in.

 _~A number of children have gone missing from various orphanages. A boy with pale skin and unique artistic talent was rrrecently taken. Many of my cats reports others missing. Bastard clan children, the parent of the bastard often killed.~_

Airi cut off abruptly, and Sasuke pretended not to notice as he helped Fuji and Rengi with a 1,000 piece puzzle. He may or may not have cheating a little bit by subtly using his sharingan to spot the pieces. He absently mindlessly drew some of the cats that worked for him.

 _~Young leader...one of us spotted something we think directly concerns you while they were surveying the children of fringe and non-central populations.~_

That tone of voice immediately had Sasuke on edge. He had only heard it once before when Airi had mentioned something involving Itachi's escape. He excused himself from the puzzle, pointing to the restroom and leaving.

He fogged the mirror with his breath and wrote a question mark in it.

Airi stretched and yawned, and Sasuke started to sweat. She was nervous about something.

She purred reassuringly, licking hi cheek with her coarse tongue, and he calmed down.

 _~Young_ _leader, do you recall Shinko Inari?~_

Sasuke nodded. How could he not. She was his brothers teammate, that would come over and gush at him. She loved cute things. Sasuke knew she had a thing for his cousin Shisui before he...died. Whenever Itachi would bring his team home she would make eyes at him. Inari was also friends with his cousin Izumi. He knew they were closer than sisters.

She worked as a waitress at her families restaurant, retiring after the mess that was her ninja team with-with _that man_. She was a medical Kunochi, if his memory served. So much potential.

A part of that closeness was because of the feelings of isolation they shared. Izumi being a Uchiha, and Inari being an immigrant, they were both well acquainted with being excluded, left out, and discriminated against.

 _~She lives in a remote part of Konoha with her family, normally populated by immigrants. Most people in her family have gray hair, but rrrecently...Inari had a private home birth where she gave birth to two dark haired twins. Both with higher chakra pools than a retired genin like Inari could supply.~_

Sasuke breathed heavily. Could it be...?

He needed to figure out a way where he could visit Inari and see the true parentage of the twins without being suspicious.

She had been a medic in training. Maybe he could use that excuse to go visit her. But she was also retired, and if these twin girls really were of Uchiha descent, than he couldn't put them at anymore risk by going to see them. He needed another way in.

Sasuke gasped, and wrote on his board.

 **Ami.**

Airi purred.

 _~That's an excellent idea young master. She lives in the same part of town as Inari and frequents her restaurant. If you hurry, you can still make it to school from your lunch break and ask Ami if she wants to go to that rrrrestaurant with you later.~_

Sasuke nodded, wrote on his board that he was heading back to school, said goodbye to Rengi and Fuji, and ran to the academy.

He had just caught up with Ami and wrote on his board asking her out. Seeing the joyful look on her face and the distraught looks on the others made him feel sick with guilt, but he promised himself he would make it up to them. He didn't like using Ami like this but it was of the upmost importance.

The walked towards Ami's place, Ami talking and laughing, relaxing at Sasuke's positive responses of nods and smiles, writing on his board to ask questions or to add in.

When they arrived at the restaurant and Inari walked up to seat them, she paused, looked at Sasuke, and walked away towards the back of the room-but not before pulling off a single shadow clone to keep Ami occupied.

Sasuke and Ami found a seat, and once they knew what they wanted, Sasuke wrote to Ami that he would place their orders at the counter and go use the restroom.

He did just that.

Inari was standing in the back of the shop in the rarely used storage room, below where the living rooms were in back. Her face was in her hands, shaking.

"H-how?" She croaked.

Sasuke smiled and hugged her. Tears slipped down his face not of his own accord, and Airi comforted them both.

He pullled out his white board.

 **Who is the father?**

She read it and looked at him.

"It's c-complicated. Let me show you them."

They walked up some back stairs and slipped into what was clearly a nursery. What Sasuke saw took his breath away.

Two perfect little girls were sleeping in a soft yellow crib. Their faces were chubby and pink, tiny lashes fluttering as they dreamed. Smokey dark hair splayed on their pillow with bunny patterns stitched onto it. They held hands as they slept.

"Only one is mine. But both are of Uchiha descent."

The look Sasuke had given her must have been comical, because she giggled softly.

"The one with the curly hair is mine and-" her voice broke "-And _Shisui's_."

Sasuke looked at the babe, innocently dreaming. A tiny snot bubble was by her nose. The two of them had always been close. No wonder Sasuke never saw Inari again until now.

"When I realized I was pregnant, it was already too late to tell Shisui. I went to Izumi. And..." Inari hesitated. "She..."

Sasuke looked at her imploringly.

"Izumi told me she was with child as well."

Sasuke had to sit down.

His breathes came out in short rapid gasps, and Airi meowed worriedly, twining her body in his arms. Was this second child Itachi's?!

Izumi hopped from one foot to another, psyching herself up, before blurting out;

"She was further along than me, and knew having a child at her age, while being only half Uchiha, and during such a tense time...she said she needed my help. So I induced her early, and she gave birth to the baby premature at around seven months. Izumi was only below your mother and Itachi when it came to genjutsu, so she was able to hide the bump. I gave birth two months later and was able to pass it off as twins."

Sasuke stared. If it wasn't for the evidence of Shisui's curly hair on baby one, and the second's small microscopic beginnings of tear troughs he only spotted because of his practice with the sharingan, plus what he knew about her history, he wouldn't have believed her.

"I'm not much of a medic. Even though I couldn't save my teammate, or my secret boyfriend, keeping an already third trimester baby alive was something I could do. They look alike enough and different enough from a Uchiha that they should be safe. Plus my status as an immigrant and the fact that darker hair is common among fire country means I will be able to avoid suspicion. "

Sasuke nodded slowly. Smart.

He stared at his little niece and little distant cousin.

"...Would you like to hold them?"

Sasuke took a moment to check that his shadow clone was still speaking with Ami before nodding.

His heart raced, his palms shook as he sat down on the rocking chair.

Soft baby chuffing reached his sensitive ears as she gently picked up the tiny soft beings and placed them in his arms. Two pairs of sleepy gray eyes blinked up at him, curiosity rife.

They were so soft. They smelled like baby powder and lavender lotion. Their gently warmth and soothing pressure was a balm to his soul, their tiny movement absolutely precious. These two were his family.

"Aren't they amazing."

Sasuke could only nod.

A few moments passed.

"Sasuke...you know you can't come here to see them again."

He sniffled, drops landing on their tiny perfect faces. He couldn't lose them. Not them too. They were so perfect, Sasuke loved them already. His heart was so full, he forgot he could love this much.

Inari sounded like she was going to cry again too.

"They're safe because of all the social camouflage. You coming here will draw too much attention-although that thing you pulled with your friend Ami was very clever. But It will only work so many times. People will start to remember that I used to be Itachi's teammate briefly, and they might find out more, and-".

She pressed her forehead to his knee, hands on the arms of the rocking chair.

Sasuke nudged her.

She looked up at him through teary eyes, and his face was full of painful understanding.

"I don't know what happened with your older brother. I have an inkling...but I know many things were going on that were dangerous and I didn't understand. Its why I distanced myself and hid my pregnancy as well."

She was right to do and think so. Had Itachi known she was with child he would have ran her through with all the other babies and women. If the secret got out now Danzo would threaten her. Itachi could come back and finish the job.

"i know something is not right. I know you know that too." Sasuke trembled with joy. Someone else suspected too! He wasn't alone!

She pulled his forehead against hers.

"One day, I hope this secrecy won't be necessary, but for now we need to be careful."

She pulled him into a hug, mindful of the babies, and he buried his wet face into her shoulder. She smelled like spices and a full meal. He felt her wet face in the crook of his own neck.

"Sasuke you will always be family to me. I love you like a little brother- _Oh! Is this Izumi's shirt_!?" She began to sob softly.

Since Itachi, Sasuke thought he would never hear someone call him little brother again. He thought that was what he wanted. But as Inari held him softly, he found that he nearly floated with happiness and a giddiness not felt since before the massacre.

They cried for awhile. and just stayed like that.

When Inari gently took the now sleeping babies back and rested them in their crib, Sasuke almost couldn't let go. Airi filled the cool empty space where the babies were, but even though it helped, it wasn't the same.

Airi licked the babies foreheads goodbye, and Sasuke walked into the bathroom. He cast a genjutsu to cover the redness on his nose and around his face, and called his shadow clone back to the rest room so he could replace it.

He went home, an even as he slept in the empty house, he didn't feel so lonely anymore.

* * *

A few days later, Sasuke was finishing up coloring the cat drawing he has started when helping Fuji and Rengi with the puzzle. It was a masterpiece of artwork, beautiful coloration, amazing contrast. The cat looked so soft you could almost feel the cloud through the color pencils.

Rengi sighed happily next to him. At Sasuke's curious look, she smiled at him.

"Oh, we have a new applicant for the Children's ward. Part time. It's a former genin with previous medical experience. She'll be perfect! She just turned the application in."

Sasuke blinked. Took his drawing, and walked down the hall towards the exit to the main part of the hospital. There he found Inari in the back drinking from a water fountain.

She smiled when she saw him, and make the shushing gesture.

He scribbled on his board.

 **Put this on the wall?**

He handed her the drawing of Airi.

Inari nodded and smiled, and then left. Sasuke didn't worry though, because he knew he would see her again-sooner than one would think.

He smiled as Airi reported back to him on the statuses of various cat-spies around the village, espically the ones watching over the babies.

He would make Konoha safe.

For him.

For them.

* * *

 **It's ya girl, coming at ya after a year of no updates with this chapter lmao. What did you think of all that?**


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